The Little Things
by Grin-Grin
Summary: So many little things can be used to great effect. This seems especially true in the Elemental Nations.


_I do not own Naruto_

**Chapter 1**

**Kawarimi**

**Origin of the Three Ring Circus**

It was actually such a simple solution. Brutal in its execution, exquisite in its application. All stemming from one of the most basic jutsu known to shinobi.

* * *

"Kawarimi. The Replacement Technique." Umino Iruka stood in front of his class and tried to instruct them in the first of the Base Three. "tried" due to thepresence of Uzamaki Naruto, the maelstrom of Konoha.

Naruto was practically vibrating in his skin at a chance to learn a jutsu. Iruka mentally sighed for the umpteenth time. Ninjutsu was, after all, hardly the defining characteristic of a true shinobi. But still... if it got Naruto to listen, he probably shouldn't t discourage that behavior too much.

And so he started with his explanation of the technique.

" The Kawarimi no Jutsu is one of the most basic jutsu any shinobi learns. Yet it is widely thought to be the jutsu most widely used as well... This reasoning is actually very simple: The kawarimi will safe you from death."

Seeing that he caught the attention of everyone in his class, Iruka inwardly smirked. He noted Naruto had gone completely still, something he had only ever seen when he fell asleep in class. Scanning over the rest of classroom, he saw that Naruto wasn't the only one interested in his lecture.

Uchiha Sasuke certainly was paying attention. The raven-haired boy was leaning forward in his desk, his eyes intently oriented squarely on Iruka. This was new. Sasuke was generally one of the more aloof pupils he had the pleasure of instructing.

The rest of glance were similarly enraptured. Kiba had finally stopped petting Akamaru at was sitting ramrod straight. Haruna Sakura sat, pencil in hand, ready to take notes. Aburume Shino's frame belayed the rapt attention he paid to their sensei. Nara Shikamaru was awake and attentive. All of the others were also _focusing_ for a change.

Even Yamanaka Ino was paying attention. The girl usually coasted through theory classes by the grace of her parentage alone.

Observing, absorbing and interpreting all this in the time it took him to draw a new breath, he continued.

"Jounin frequently debate over the usefulness of various techniques, but the kawarimi is the sole technique whose use draws no controversy." This was a lie of course. Summoning Techniques and Storage Seals, Shunsin and Bunshin, even nameless strength-enhancing techniques were all considered unanimously useful and beyond reproach.

"It will save you from a Fire Dragon Jutsu, it will save you from a mountain's worth of rock, it will even safe you from a point-blank Explosive Note. It takes only five seals, a ridiculously small amount of chakra, so poor amount of control that a brain-damaged parakeet would be able to UZUMAKI! STOP DROOLING ON THE DESK!"

Leave it to Naruto to spoil a perfectly good spiel.

"Gomenasai, Sensei. It's just... that sounds so cool!"

Palm. Meet Forehead.

Only Naruto.

"But Umino-Sensei?"

"Yes Sakura?"

"If this Replacement Technique is so powerful... why are shinobi mortality rates still so high?"

Ah. Of course she'd be the one to realize it's not that simple.

"Well yes, Sakura... This technique is a little too good to be true. Like any jutsu, it relies on its user's awareness of the situation. If it's user uses it at the wrong time or the wrong place... it doesn't end well. This is mostly because of kawarimi's usefulness."

Seeing the puzzled looks of his students, as well as the deflation of both Naruto and Sasuke, he decided to elaborate. But it would be better if they can realize it on their own. Now... who to ask?

" Shikamaru. If you know your enemy relies solely on one jutsu for survival, what do you do to vanquish that opponent?"

Shikamaru frowned as he considered.

" Well... if I can somehow block him from using it, that would be the least troublesome move... but if I can't ... I should somehow figure out how to use it against him."

Iruka smirked. Shikamaru tried to hide it, but he was only a Student and his deceptions were still ineffective. He wondered where that keen mind would lead him in the future.

"Precisely. Seasoned shinobi frequently undergo Spotting training. Spotting is the art of determining the target of a kawarimi. Observe."

Leisurely running through the handseals, he replaced himself with a chair at the back. Appearing next to a startled Hyuuga Hinata, he clapped his hands once to draw his student's eyes. He then ran through the seals again to switch to the front of the class.

"A trained shinobi would have sensed my target was that chair. But there are other signs as well. You all saw me until I clapped my hands at the back, yes? That is the reason why this technique is taught first, is that the other members of the Base Three originate from the separation of certain elements of the Kawarimi."

" There was a moment, small but still present, that there was nothing in my place. I disappeared and the chair disappeared at the same time. But you all still saw me. This is because of an element of the Kawarimi that gave birth to the Bunshin no Jutsu. The kawarimi creates a short-lived illusionary clone of the user and the target at their respective positions."

" Then, at the moment of the physical switch, the target and the user replace each other. But it still looked like I was standing here, correct? This is due to the element of kawarimi that was distilled into the Henge no Jutsu. It generates a infinitesimally thin chakra-shell in the form of the user and the target in their respective positions, simultaneously."

Seeing Aburame Shino raise his hand, Iruka paused in his lecture.

"Yes Shino?"

"Umino-sensei... I detected you were very carefully using the word 'object' instead of 'target'. This implies that the Kawarimi can be used on living organisms as well?"

Smiling at his student's perceptiveness, Iruka nodded. "The Kawarimi can be used on a variety of targets, including other people. But then the requirements differ. Theoretically, there is nothing stopping you from replacing yourself with air. Theoretically."

"In reality, however... the chakra cost and control necessary increase exponentially, so much so that it is functionally impossible for even a jounin to rely on it. The same idea applies to everything: The more the target's shape and mass differs from yours, the higher the requirements."

"The idea applies to people as well, if only in a different form. In the case of the target being a person, we must factor in the difference in the amount of chakra between the two, the chakra control of the user and the willingness of the target. But all these will be covered in the next lesson, as well as the concept of Spotting training and the use of Kawarimi on allies."

* * *

Naruto smirked. If there was one lesson he truly took to heart, it was his first Ninjutsu lesson. The only way to replace with an enemy is to overwhelm their chakra, either with incredible chakra control or truly enormous amounts of chakra.

And even then, it would accomplish nothing in single combat. So why was this memory causing him to smirk in his fight against Neji?

Because it was **_never single combat_** when Uzamaki Naruto was involved.

"Uzumaki Style: Three Ring Circus"

He created three Kage Bunshin in the titular ring around him, as well as one slightly in front of him. Then the beating started.

The frontal clone overwhelmed Neji's chakra stores and forcibly Kawarimi'd with him and then promptly dispelled. Neji, still disoriented from his abrupt journey, was grabbed by one of the Ring clones and pulled close. Before he could muster a defense, he was wrenched by yet another Kawarimi.

That became the least of his worries when a fist smacked into his face.

Head ringing from the brutal blow, he tried to focus on the original Naruto. He barely succeeded when his whole frame of reference was shifted yet again.

A blow landed squarely on his nose.

The next blow caught him in the temple.

The one after, on the tip of his chin.

And on it went. Blow after blow, after replacement after replacement. Neji lost feeling to his face long before his tormentor was finished with him. This state of being-in-too-much-pain-to-register-any-more allowed him to see the real blond spinning in the center of the clones, unleashing punches at his clones that suddenly materialized in front of Neji's face.

Even Neji had to admit that Naruto, the dobe of his class, dominated that fight.

* * *

The Three Ring Circus would continue to be a very used weapon in Naruto's arsenal until he met those rare people whose chakra pools were to just too damn large for even him to abuse in such a manner.

_Author's Note: So yeah... Was kinda bored and sick of studying... Then **THIS** jumped into my head. __Anyway... I might (emphasis on **might**) expand this through more chapters. Don't hold your breath though *shrugs*.  
_

_It just seemed kinda logical when I started thinking about it. Review's are welcome, as are PM's if you have ideas or opinions._

_Till later (maybe) *waves*_


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